Daily Mail

A sequel to the earlier post about the battle between the Daily Mail and Ed Miliband. This morning, the Labour leader wrote to the paper’s proprietor to request an investigation into why a reporter from the Mail on Sunday attended a family memorial uninvited. The story is clearly not over. So I thought it worth sharing some research into an aspect of the saga – the relationship between the political beliefs of parents and children. Read more

The newspaper says it wants to discuss “the views of his father and their influence on Britain’s would-be Prime Minister.” No man can hear the “distant footsteps” of another’s father, as the poet Cesar Vallejo wrote. But the Mail is wrong. Its implication is that a Miliband premiership would be an exercise in proving his father right. However, if we must personalise it, his government would be better cast as an effort to prove Tony Blair wrong. Read more

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About John

Blog guide

John McDermott's blog is a modest attempt to reduce befuddlement. It
features a lot of public policy (and charts) with a smattering of
politics and culture.

John McDermott has been with the FT since 2010. He was formerly the executive comment editor in London and before that a writer for FT Alphaville in New York. Prior to joining the FT, he was a policy adviser in the Downing Street Policy Unit.